Getting off Campus: What to do

When deciding where I wanted to attend college a big factor for me was making sure I did not have a campus that I felt “stuck” on. I loved the idea of attending a small school but I did not want everything I did to have to be on campus. I grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina so I was very used to living in the city. When I toured Furman for the first time I began to realize all its ties to Greenville. This was just one of the many attributes I loved about Furman but nonetheless, I committed to further my academic career here and have never looked back!

My first few weeks here I spent heavily on campus, working to adjust to this new world of mine. The adjustment was a rather quick one to me. I grew to know many people on campus, I could finally walk the campus confidently, and I could go to the dining hall alone… all things that took time. I remember after a few weeks I was ready to explore so what did I think to go to first? Starbucks! There my friends and I were driving to the nearest Starbucks in Travelers Rest, this quickly became our spot. Whenever we felt as though we needed to get off campus we were able to make the 7 minutes drive to our local Starbucks and oh boy did we love making that drive. Then came the day that our original groceries became low and we needed to restock. Within several miles of campus we have multiple Walmarts, a Publix, and Ingles. Grocery shopping was now fun because you go to go with all your friends. Depending on our moods we would choose our preferred shopping location and restock on the snacks, ramen, and gum (all the necessities haha).

Besides our runs to the local Starbucks and grocery stores there became a time where we were ready to treat ourselves and eat out. Luckily Greenville is a total foodie town. Furman is surrounded by the best places to grab a bite to eat whether you want to get pizza to go, crepes for breakfast, a nice meal, or dessert… we’ve got it all. Furman’s location is perfect! We have a city named Travelers Rest literally 3 miles away and then downtown Greenville less than 6 miles away.

Some of my fav places to grab a meal in Travelers Rest are:

• Tandem Creperie
• Sushi Yama
• Sidewall Pizza

& my fav places in Downtown Greenville are:

• Nosedive
• Grill Marks
• Tupelo Honey
• & Creme Shack for dessert

We also have an area called Haywood where our the closest Target, Trader Joe’s, Crumbl Cookies, and mall are. My friends and I typically make weekend trips over to Haywood to explore Target or go shopping at the mall and the other boutiques nearby.

Lastly, Greenville is an amazing place to get outdoors. Right on campus, you can hop onto the Swamp Rabbit Trail for a run or bike ride which will lead you to travelers Rest or the Swamp Rabbit Cafe which is one of my friends and I’s favorite spots to grab a coffee and bite to eat. Downtown also has great walking and biking trails. My favorite thing to do to get outside is to visit Bald Rock. It is about a 30-minute drive from campus but it is SO worth it. We typically grab dinner to go and then drive over to watch the sunset on the graffitied rocks that overlook the mountains. It is stunning and so much fun!

I hope you learned more about what there is to do off-campus here at Furman University!

Talk to you guys next week,

-Olivia Pearson